A lot of folks have closed the door on Fedor Emelianenko heading to the UFC, after what went down on Friday, but it sounds like it may not be shut just yet….

As you’ve almost certainly heard, Emelianenko was brutally beaten by Fabio Maldonado in the opening round of their EFN 50 bout, before going on to win a majority decision. The Russian star showed a ton of heart and toughness in the fight, no question, but it wasn’t the one sided, impressive victory Fedor fans were hoping for. After all, the bout could have easily been stopped in the opening round.

Recently the UFC unveiled its new “Unfiltered” podcast with Matt Serra and Jim Norton, and the first guest was UFC boss man Dana White. During the interview White was asked to weigh-in on Fedor’s performance, and he said this (quote via MMA Junkie.com):

“They were going to let him die before they stopped that fight, you know that?” White said. “But a testament to how tough and durable and mentally strong Fedor is, man. He was out. He was out. Literally, when he got back up … when a guy is on crazy legs the way that he was on crazy legs, and it’s not like he was on crazy legs and able to avoid punches after that…”

“We’ve been negotiating for many, many, many years,” White said. “I’ll tell you this: Fight Pass did very well with that fight, so people do still want to watch Fedor.”

And there you have it. One could deduce from this that provided the “Last Emperor’s” reps don’t ask for the financial moon, we could finally see Emelianenko in the Octagon. Yes, even though he was nearly defeated by a guy who was released from the UFC.

After all, we didn’t hear White saying Fedor is washed up, or that they have no interest in signing him. Which, let’s face it, White would be the first to say publicly right?